Remember the uproar that WhatsApp’s new privacy policy caused in January that had the messaging app initiate damage control while millions of its users fled to competing apps such as Telegram and Signal? Well, it’s back, and you’ll need to accept it by May 15th if you want to continue using WhatsApp.
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What happens if you don’t accept the new privacy policy?
In a nutshell, WhatsApp will take your toys away unless you play nicely. You’ll lose full-functionality and be restricted to receiving calls and notifications and won’t be able to read or send messages. You can still accept the new policy after the May 15th deadline, and WhatsApp says that it won’t delete accounts if you don’t do so, but that its inactive user policy will apply.
You can download your chat history on Android or iPhone and a report of your account before May 15th, and move to a competing app. If you choose to delete your account then all your message history will be erased, backups will be deleted, and you’ll be removed from your WhatsApp groups. WhatsApp says that account deletion can’t be reversed.
At this point, it’s very much a decision where if you want or need to have WhatsApp then you’ll accept the privacy policy. If you are moving to Telegram or Signal, you’ve got a little under three months to download your data to make the switch without starting from scratch.
Personally, I’ll probably stick with WhatsApp as my Dad is comfortable with it and most of his cronies are on it, but I plan to dip my toe into the Telegram/Signal pond over the next couple of weeks with other contacts to see how they compare.
Are you going to accept WhatsApp’s privacy policy this time around?
